West Wing episode 9/25 (1 Viewer)

[Marty M]

I thought this was one of the best episode ever of this series. If this is any indication, this could be a great season. I liked the way they injected the humorous story line with Josh, Toby, and Donna. Being a "neighbor" to Indiana, I liked the jokes about Indiana. The best line was when Bartlett said some like -- "It's a good thing Donna is with them, or they'd have to buy a house."

They finally answered why the Lily Tomlin character had been fired. I think she will be a great addition to the show.

 

[Pete M]

Can you Marty, or someone, please explain what happened with the Lily Tomlin interview? I think I missed a couple of words and didn't understand what happened.

 

[Roberto Carlo]

While I enjoyed the Tomlin interview and some of the exchanges between Josh and Toby, I found the rest of this episode to be a colossal bore. It seemed to go on forever. This episode should, if it hasn't already been done, demonstrate the inanity of the "Best Drama" Emmy.

 

[MikeAlletto]

I found it extremely boring also. It was way to drawn out. They could have done the same story in a 1 hour episode. There were some good humerous parts (especially the time zone thing, since I give my sister grief about it all the time with Indiana) but the rest was just filler.

 

[David Dennison]

I am a huge fan of The West Wing, but this episode was very long, boring, and preachy (even more so than usual). The Indiana parts were funny (being from Indy), but otherwise I was very disappointed.

Also I still struggle with tv shows and movies copying 9/11. The pipe-bomb storyline did not play well at all with me. Although it was a much smaller scale, the event ocurred exactly like 9/11 especially with the firefighters (I think) rushing in to help and losing their lives in the process.
. I just don't find that appropriate yet

 

[Chad R]

I think the pipe bombing storyline is going to be very relevant. It appears from the next week's show that it is in response to the Qumar Embassador being assasinated. It's very probable that the next terrorist attack we face will be on a much smaller scale than 9/11, and that's what Sorkin is trying to get at. This storyline will be much more immediate and interesting than that tepid disease thread from last season (with its completely silly resolution).

I thought that this episode reaffirmed why this series consistently wins best Drama. The Indiana storyline had humor and heart, the back door dealings with Leo and Fitzwater were great (especially how they keep secrets from other intelligence officials). The only complaint I have is with how long it's taken the president to replace his secretary (over a year now).

 

[Marty M]

I am not sure what you missed but here are some highlights of the interviewShe would not tell Bartlett why she was fired. She did reveal the name of the person Charlie beat to get the job. As we find out this guy was the son of some influencial person Lily's boss wanted to have Charlie's job.

 

[BrianShort]

Did it look to anyone like there might be another pipe bombing in next weeks episode, based on that preview? It did to me, but then I was thinking that they were just referring to the incident in this episode. I can't recall exactly what the preview showed now.

 

[Alan Benson]

I've got to agree with Marty that this was an amazing episode... One of their best... Sorry, but if that was boring you should just stop watching. I thought the whole "I Don't Like Mondays" bit was brilliant, as was the way "I Work at the White House" kept evolving... Not only was Lily awesome ("Does that come with a cape and tights?") but we got to see some rare comedy from Stockard Channing and the usually-stuffy Anna Devere Smith...

 

[Rob T]

I thought it was an excellent episode.
I can't wait to get it on DVD.

 

[Brad Porter]

Since I grew up in the area Sam, Toby, and Donna were "lost" in, I found some of the characterizations of the locals familiar. While the rest of the world views Indiana's stubbornness over daylight savings time as a sign of backwards thinking or lack of civilization, we mostly viewed everyone else's acceptance of it as foolishness. Everyone else changes their clocks and wakes up earlier or later. Indiana leaves the clocks alone and wakes up earlier or later. The only reason it's a problem is that nobody outside of the state can figure out what time it is in Indiana. Otherwise, the response of "I didn't vote for him the first time. I'm not going to vote for him the second time." was a pretty fair depiction of the kind of greeting they would have received - not particularly insulting, but certainly not an invitation to gladhand and campaign.
The one thing that really bothered me about the show is that they are making Bartlett's opponent (Governor Ritchie) out to be a complete buffoon - and in a way that should be apparent to everyone independent of political affiliation. The combination of this characterization and the simultaneous show of support by the people in Indiana was rather insulting. The region may be characterized by an allegiance to "conservative" politics, but these are not people who suffer fools gladly. The show needs to give Ritchie some redeemable qualities that justify his position as the Republican nominee or else the political bias inherently built into the show will rise from noticeable to shameless.
Brad

 

[DaveF]

I also enjoyed the show. It took me the first half to settle into it (I wasn't feeling very West Wingy at first), but I greatly enjoyed the second half. I'm also from Indiana, and gave up years ago understanding time zones there are elsewhere. The locations were a bit familiar, but I'm not from that far out in the country.
The pipe-bombing issue didn't strike me as a 9/11-cheat, so it does echo feelings on the anniversary. But I agree that it is likely a harbinger of the Qumar plot.
Three favorite scenes:
- Sam to Bartlett, "Was she funny?" (asking about Lily Tomlin's character)
- Charlie telling the punk kid what the score is.
- Donna telling Toby and Josh what the score is.
- And the conversation with the guy at the bar at the very end ("It should be hard. But just a little easier, just a little.")
(P.S. There are three types of mathematicians: those who can count, and those who can't )

 

[CharlesD]

I liked it too. the Indiana bits were funny, I liked how several people told them "didn't vote for him the first time, don't plan to the second the time". The "buy a house" line was great, as were the interviews (on the plane and with LT). Charlie telling the punk off was great also.
I did think the guy in the bar bit was over the top, but I will put up with the WW getting preachy and over doing it from time to time because of the writing and great characters.

 

[Lee L]

I thought they said it was the boys swim team, practicing nearby while the girls had their meet, that ran into the building.

I hope the descriptions of the president's schedule was there because they mentioned that there was a secreatary who just kept track of the presidents comings and goings. I did not like the constant interruptions at all.

Not to start a controversy here but it did seem like they are really using all the same charges levied against Bush against Ritchie. Can't the writers think of something original to write about the guy.

 

[Michael*K]

Not to start a controversy here but it did seem like they are really using all the same charges levied against Bush against Ritchie.

 

[LarryDavenport]

I like the West Wing, and for the most part I liked this episode, but the music drove me up the wall. It was way over the top and manipulative.

 

[Craig S]

I thought it was a good episode, if a bit overlong. It was a little more preachy than usual. The farm subsidy stuff was laid on too thick (and without the token opposing viewpoint normally thrown in), and I agree with others here that turning Ritchie into a caricature of the liberal view of Bush is too obvious and a mistake for the show.
The Qumar storyline is shaping up pretty nicely, however. It's interesting that this liberal President has a chief-of-staff and National Security Advisor that are pretty hawkish, enough so that they convinced Bartlett to order the assassination of a foreign government official - an action that would normally be associated with a right-leaning President. It's this kind of departure from the stereotypical conservative/liberal dynamic that makes "The West Wing" great. It contrasts sharply with the "Ritchie is an idiot" plot which falls far short of this show's usual standards.
However, the election will be over soon, and the Ritchie problem left behind. Hopefully then the show will return to first/second season levels.

 

[Pete M]

However, the election will be over soon, and the Ritchie problem left behind.

Hey.... Ritchie might win, then we'll get a whole new cast.

 

[Craig S]

Ritchie might win, then we'll get a whole new cast.

A couple of years ago I had the thought that if Sorkin really wanted to keep his show fresh after the first few seasons, he should do just that - have Bartlet lose his re-election bid, and bring in a whole new cast to continue the show. If done right (i.e., no advance notice to the audience), it would have been riveting, historic TV. In order for this to work, however, he would have needed to create a GOP candidate who was Bartlet's intellectual & moral equal. Ritchie (at least as presented to this point) is too much of a cartoon to pull this off.

The possibility of this scenario would have made the election interesting. It's probably the ony way Sorkin could have competed with the drama of the REAL 2000 election. As it is, we know Bartlet will be re-elected, therefore the whole election storyline has no suspence and is just something to get through.

Hopefully I'm wrong and Sorkin will find a way to surprise us.

 

[Paul McElligott]

The Qumar storyline is shaping up pretty nicely, however. It's interesting that this liberal President has a chief-of-staff and National Security Advisor that are pretty hawkish, enough so that they convinced Bartlett to order the assassination of a foreign government official - an action that would normally be associated with a right-leaning President.

If you're suggesting that Harry Truman, JFK, LBJ or Bill Clinton wouldn't have had a foreign leader whacked if it had seemed necessary, well, I respectfully disagree (Jimmy Carter certainly wouldn't have, but he was such a goshdarn boy scout ).